


The Dreamers and Me

by Jingle



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Tomorrowland (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Atheist Character, Drink Spiking, F/F, Femslash February, Human!Athena, POV Female Character, POV Third Person, Present Tense, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 04:50:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6105466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jingle/pseuds/Jingle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Athena sees a lot of potential in her college roommate.</p><p>All chapters have been written. One will be posted daily through the rest of February.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Roommate

**Author's Note:**

> Don't get me wrong, I adore Frank and Athena, but I'm a femslash fangirl when all is said and done.
> 
> Title comes from the classic Muppet song, "The Rainbow Connection".

“Perfect.”

The room certainly appears to be so, or at least, Athena’s half does. The other half belongs to her roommate, Casey Newton, and looks more like organized chaos. In all fairness, it’s their first day in the dorms, and Casey hasn’t finished packing. Athena just happens to approach every task given to her with efficiency. It helps, of course, that she doesn’t have a lot of personal items. Almost everything she brought with her to college is strictly essential. Forming emotional attachment to items always has confused Athena. She doesn’t see the point to that.

Her half of the room consists of a bed made up neatly with pale blue sheets, a corkboard that is currently empty of any photographs of notes, her desk and the school supplies carefully placed upon it, and stackable plastic crates in which flawlessly folded clothing found a home.

Casey’s side of the room, on the other hand, is littered with family photos and old NASA paraphernalia, among other personal items. Athena doesn’t mind this, though. She may be a perfectionist, but she knows that a cluttered living space can indicate quite a lot.

The girls haven’t met in person yet, so Athena can’t be sure if these indications have truth to them. They’ve connected through emails, and that has been promising, but there hasn’t been face-to-face contact yet. Casey arrived last night, and is currently out exploring the campus, according to the note on the whiteboard hanging from their dorm door. Athena arrived about an hour ago and, as curious as she is about Casey, she knows it doesn’t make sense to try to track down one person out of the over eleven-thousand who attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And really, there need not be a rush. Athena knows that her social skills are not _exactly_ up to par.

She doesn’t jump when she hears someone knock on the frame of the open doorway, although it does startle her. Instead, she puts on a polite smile and turns around to see the blonde girl from the student profile pages. Casey Newton is even wearing the same faded NASA cap now that she wore in that photo.

“Athena?” Casey asks. She appears slightly nervous, but there’s another emotion there Athena can’t pick up on.

“Yes. Hello, Casey.”

Casey laughs and begins to move in for a hug, but – thank goodness – catches herself and offers her hand for a handshake instead. Athena feels immense relief, and also makes a quick mental note that the emotion she couldn’t place must have been excitement.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

“Likewise,” Athena says with a nod. To her credit, Casey’s smile only falters a little. Athena notices this, and feels just a bit bad. She’s just not good at getting emotional. She can understand why Casey is so happy, though. This marks their first day at a very prestigious school. They’ve worked hard to get here.

“Wow, look how neat your side is!” Casey notes. “My side looks like I’ve already been here for weeks.” She says it with a laugh, and Athena is pleased that Casey doesn’t seem worried about her half of the room bothering Athena. In another situation, with another person, it might have been annoying. But in this case, it just provides further indication that Athena and Casey had been paired as roommates for a reason.

Athena, who is majoring ‘Civil and Environmental Engineering’ and minoring in ‘Toxicology and Environmental Health’, wants nothing more than to make the world a better place. She knows the world is currently facing a grim future, but she believes things can still turn around. However, that requires more than a very logical, fact-based way of thinking such as Athena’s. It requires a creative mind, as well. There’s no point in having someone who can make dreams happen if there’s no dream to begin with.

Casey is majoring in ‘Aerospace Engineering’, and while that means they’re both looking to become engineers of some sort, Casey’s mind clearly works differently. She is not only unorganized, but she is also unapologetic about it. Athena cannot read people naturally, but she has studied a bit of psychology and, based on what she’s read, these point toward a creative mind. And the emails they’ve exchanged definitely showed signs of someone who is a true dreamer. She has already told Athena how she wants to make the world a better place, without Athena mentioning her own goals. Casey has hope in a different way than Athena does. Athena’s hope is based on research, things she knows are possible if people just do the correct things moving forward. Casey’s hope is based on faith and dreams and a belief that there is goodness in the world.

Athena knew someone like that back in high school, as well. The two were working together towards a wonderful dream, a wonderful future… And then, in their senior year, Frank had confessed his love for Athena. She’d been completely taken aback. She’d _panicked_ , with no idea what to do or how to respond. She'd have loved to feel the same way... But she did not.

Things had gotten awkward then. Athena had withdrawn from Frank, not sure of how to handle having rejected him. Now, she had not heard from him since their graduation.

She must have been frowning at the memory, because Athena suddenly noticed Casey looking at her with concern. “You okay?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, I just got lost in thought.”

“Yeah, I do that, too,” Casey replies with a shrug. Then she smiles. “I still can’t really believe I’m here. I mean, you do well in school, but how can you know you’ll make it like this?”

“Because you work hard,” Athena answers. “People don’t get here by luck, after all. Especially people like you, Casey.”

Casey raises her eyebrows and moves her hands upwards in a baffled gesture. “ _Me_? What do you mean?”

“People who dream. You told me you wanted to fix the world’s future. Well, I’ve always wanted to do the same. I knew someone once who could have helped me move towards that, but things… Didn’t play out as planned.” Casey opened her mouth, and Athena pressed on before the other girl could ask. “But now there’s you. Things won’t go wrong this time.”

Casey’s body relaxes, and her eyes gleam. “Sounds ambitious. I like it. Hey, what’s that movie with that line?”

“You know that’s not sufficient information for me to go off of, right?”

Casey ignores Athena. For a moment, there’s silence, and then she snaps her fingers, ending the action with a pointing gesture in her roommate’s direction. “Casablanca! Humphrey Bogart says to… Some other guy, ‘I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship’. Well, that’s going to be us. Dibs on being Bogart!”

Athena gives a small laugh. Casey’s enthusiasm is catching, which bodes well. “I’ll allow that.” She thinks Casey might be right. She thinks this could be something good, not just for the world… But for _her_.


	2. The Finger-painting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Casey always has her own approach.

When Athena walks into the dorm to see Casey on the floor, sprawled out on her stomach with her hands and face – and the floor – covered in paint, all she can do is ask, “What the hell are you doing?”

“I thought you didn’t believe in hell,” Casey replies, not looking up.

“I don’t believe in religion in general. But it’s a figure of speech,” Athena sighs. Casey laughs.

“I’m _finger-painting_.” It’s then that Athena realizes most of the paint on the floor is actually on a square of paper – although there’s still a lot of paint of the floor. Athena wrinkles her nose at that part, and in general confusion.

“Why?”

“Well, you keep talking about how important it is that I bring creativity to our work. This seemed like a fun way to stay creative.”

Athena has to smile at that. Honestly, it’s not a bad idea, and at least this way Casey can have fun – have a _life_ – and still work towards their goal of a better tomorrow. Athena’s been feeling a bit guilty about how much pressure she puts on her roommate, lately. The feeling surprises her, because guilt is not something that she usually has to deal with. It makes it hard to deny that Casey is more than a roommate and work partner – she’s a _friend_. Initially, this concept had excited Athena in a way. She didn’t really have any friends when she left for college, after all.

But as friendship becomes more and more inevitable, Athena finds herself worried. Her last true friendship ended very badly, and she does not wish to relive that. While it’s statistically unlikely that Casey will _also_ fall for her, there are other ways to ruin a friendship. Athena isn’t completely sure what they are, but that makes it all the more likely that she’ll accidentally manage to do one of them.

“Hey, Athena, you’re zoning out again.” Casey’s voice cuts through the slog of Athena’s mind like the ring of a bell. It’s loud, and draws her attention instantly, but in a pleasant way. Athena nods at Casey to indicate that she’s ‘back’, so to speak, and Casey looks up with her head tilted to one side. “What are you always thinking about that gets you so distracted?”

“None of your business,” Athena says, and Casey rolls her eyes. They’ve been roommates for over two months now, so Athena knows she must be used to her (more than) occasional blunt way of speaking.

“Okay, then, do you want to get in on this?” Casey offers, spreading her arms wide to give Athena a better view of her artwork. “I have more cardstock.”

“No. What is that supposed to be, anyway?”

“The gaseous planet of Jupiter,” Casey says. Her tone indicates that this should be obvious, which Athena silently takes offense at. There’s no point in voicing that she’s been insulted, though, because she knows Casey didn’t mean to do so. Once, she was able to read Frank a bit better than she could read most people – which was usually not at all – and now the same thing was happening with Casey. It was just a matter of how much time they spent together. It wasn’t personal. “Hey, Jupiter. Like your dad.”

Athena picked up on the reference to Mythology quickly, and shook her head. “Jupiter is _Minerva’s_ father.”

“You’re also not _actually_ a Greek Goddess,” Casey counters with a smile, focusing on her finger-painting once again. “Besides, the Romans were basically copycats of the Greek. With plumbing.”

“You’re simplifying things.”

“But I have a point.” Casey pushes her thumb into a tub of orange paint and smears it across the paper.

This conversation is, in Athena’s opinion, going nowhere important, so she changes the subject to her earlier guilt. Bringing it up feels awkward, but there’s more pain in trying to fight it down. “I know we have a goal, but I want you to know that you’re free to live your life, too.”

Casey nods. “Of course I know that. You’re my roommate, not my boss. Even if sometimes you _think_ you’re the boss. But… I appreciate you saying that. Even if I like what we’ve been doing.”

What they’d been doing, thus far, consisted of organizing the occasional protest or rally or fundraiser, but mostly just of researching the science that would be needed to help save the world. _Athena_ certainly enjoyed it, especially the research aspect, but was admittedly surprised that Casey felt the same way. Surprised, and relieved. After all, it’s just logical that Casey will be far more productive if she enjoys what she’s doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always feel like I'm walking a fine line when writing Casey. Hopefully I didn't make her seem childish in this chapter.
> 
> The phrase of the Romans being Greek-copycats but with plumbing is from a presentation I once saw a teacher give.


	3. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hangovers are the worst.

It isn’t too long before Casey is invited to a party, and Athena is welcomed as well, by virtue of the fact that – aside from during classes – the two were rarely apart. Casey still feels excitement over what they are working towards, and Athena, frankly, does’t _want_ to bother with anything but that and schoolwork. That definitely means she isn’t interested in a party. But Casey strongly urges Athena to join her, and Athena finds it hard to say no, for a reason she can’t figure out. She agrees to attend the party on the condition that Casey doesn’t overdo any drinking or even once touch a drug.

“I need that brain of yours in top working condition.”

“Nice of you to care about me,” Casey responds with sarcasm. It’s not malicious, but still, Athena has noticed there’s more of that as the two girls become better friends. Evidentially, Casey is comfortable being herself around Athena, which isn’t a bad thing. “I wasn’t planning on getting sloshed or lighting up, anyway. But parties are part of the college experience,” Casey explains, and begins to get undressed. Athena blinks.

“What are you doing?”

“Um, getting ready for the party? Aren’t you going to get ready, too?”

“I’m already dressed,” Athena states, and Casey shrugs.

“Well, sure, but… Hey, I’m one of the last people you’d call girly, but most girls like to at least kind of dress up for these things. I mean, this isn’t a prom or anything, but it’s not just hanging out in the library, either.”

Athena rolls her eyes with clear disgust, but strips down, herself, and finds a nice, simple dress to wear. The skirt of the dress isn’t all _that_ long, and winter has started to chill the school campus, meaning she definitely needs tights. She’s always _loathed_ tights. Athena is, for all intents and purposes, a literal genius, and generally quite physically adept, yet she can hardly ever get on a pair of stockings without causing a run or some other issue.

Tonight is no exception, but the white flats she slips on cover the fact that her left big toe has punched a hole in her stockings just fine. Finally ready, she looks over to Casey. Unlike Athena, Casey has not worn a single article of traditionally feminine clothing so far this school year, but tonight she wears a black skirt and a white tank top. Athena doesn’t realize she’s staring until Casey looks at her suspiciously. “What?”

“You look stupid,” Athena blurts out, her inner filter not on, as usual. Casey scowls.

“Well thanks, Athena.”

“Let me clarify. You look nice, but you don’t look like _yourself_.” Athena glances down at Casey’s feet, wobbling in the slightest of heels. “You don’t look comfortable, either. So yes, I think it’s stupid to do all that just for other people.”

“If I want to dress a little girly, I’m still me,” Casey argues. She does, however, start to kick of her shoes, but Athena holds up a hand and she stops.

“You’re right. Casey, I shouldn’t have pigeonholed you. And if you’re really set on wearing heels, you’ll have to practice, so you might as well keep those on.”

Casey flings her hands into the air, but smiles. “I don’t get you. But okay, let’s go.”

“If we have to,” Athena says, but allows Casey to take her hand and lead her out of their dorm and to the party.

And that’s about all Athena remembers until the next morning. She wakes up the next day feeling like her mouth is lined with fur, and like her head is going to split right down the middle. She groans, and as her eyes adjust to the light, it’s suddenly gone.

“There. Closed curtains and no lamps. That should help,” she hears Casey say. “You must feel awful. How much do you remember?”

“I remember being bored,” Athena offers, “and that’s it.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, you stayed boring. I mean… You weren’t an obnoxious drunk.”

“Right,” Athena said absently, in too much pain to point out that she’d said she was bored, not _boring._ “And… Why did I decide to get drunk?”

A sigh from Casey. “You didn’t. You were just going to have a drink. Some jackass spiked the keg with something _really_ strong. I’m not sure what, but it must have been nasty.”

Athena shut her eyes, feeling mortified. “And you’re sure I didn’t embarrass myself?”

“Yeah, I promise.” Casey’s voice isn’t soothing like it normally is. Instead, it causes Athena’s head to pound. “As soon as I realized you were drunk, I got you back here. And you were just clumsy. And you stopped talking completely. To be fair, though, that _is_ pretty weird for you.”

There’s a rocking of Athena’s bed that makes her feel like she may well throw up, but then there’s something warm under her head and something else warm stroking her hair, which helps. She carefully opens one eye and realizes her head rests on Casey’s lap. This means that Casey’s hand is in her hair. This means it’s _human contact_ , which Athena tends to resist, that is bringing her comfort.

“I’m sorry you had to leave the party because of me,” Athena murmurs, her fingers curling into Casey’s flannel pajama pants. Feeling weak and vulnerable like this, both from the hangover and the close proximity to another person, terrifies her. She feels like a child and wants to pull away, yet she needs the comfort. Athena can’t convince even herself otherwise.

“It wasn’t that fun, anyway,” Casey tells her. “Besides, I’m pretty sure the party got busted at some point after we were gone. So really, you saved our skins. Hey… Is this okay? I know you’re not really touchy-feely. This just seemed like the right thing to do.”

“It’s fine,” Athena whispers. She just then realizes how hoarse her voice sounds, but that’s not nearly as concerning as how true it is that their current situation really _is_ fine with Athena. She never could have done this with anyone else, even Frank, who meant the world to her, insofar as Athena had felt someone else _could_. She has had Casey Newton marked as special from day one, but now the idea that there may be multiple meanings to that is creeping into her mind. Athena is not sure how to feel about that.


	4. The Pin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things can't go smoothly forever.

Athena is learning Chinese because it’s a highly practical language to learn, globally speaking. But even for such a brilliant mind, these particular classes have been tiring. Learning a language that doesn’t use the alphabet she’s used to is, naturally, difficult. So when she returns from that class, she simply wants to lie down for a while. Maybe she’s curious to see if Casey has come further with the reading Athena essentially _assigned_ her. After the morning of Athena’s hangover, she’s been pushing both herself and Casey into their work towards fixing the future to avoid the possibilities that day had opened up in Athena’s mind.

As soon as Athena opens the door to their dorm, however, thoughts of Chinese and awkward social situations are instantly gone. All thoughts are gone, in fact. There’s only emotion: rage.

Casey is knelt down by Athena’s crates of clothes, wearing only a bra and staring at a round, orange and blue pin.

“Put that down right now!” Athena practically screeches. Casey give a start, and in doing so, she does drop the pin. Athena runs over to pick it up.

Casey looks hopelessly at Athena. “I was just going to borrow a shirt, I didn’t mean to find it. What… What is it?”

“It’s nothing,” Athena says in a rush, stuffing the pin back between two neatly-folded tops.

“Hey, Athena, you can tell me… I mean, obviously it’s important to you. Look, either way, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to – ”

Athena turns to glare at her roommate. “I said it’s nothing. And who told you to go through my clothing? Even when you found it, you should have just put it back! You were holding it.”

“Hey, come on, it’s not a big deal. I was just curious, and I had barely just picked it up when you came in and starting freaking out.”

At those last words, Athena narrows her eyes and Casey and, taking advantage of the taller girl still kneeling on the floor, grabs her NASA cap of her head. Casey gapes at her as she leaps to her feet.

“Athena, what the _hell_? Give that back!”

“Well, _now_ who’s freaking out?” Athena taunts, although she lets Casey snatch the hat back.

“What was the point of _that_?”

“You can’t just go through someone’s things! It’s not right!”

“I said I was sorry! And why are you getting so upset if it’s _nothing_? Athena, I’m kind of pissed that you’d keep a secret from me.”

“I am allowed to have secrets,” Athena says firmly.

“Are you? Look, we’re supposed to be partners on this future stuff – even though _you_ act like the boss half of the time. But I figured that was okay, because even though you’re bossy, I knew you had faith in me. Obviously you don’t!”

“Don’t be stupid, Casey! What you had wasn’t even related to what we’re doing,” Athena points out. It’s sort of a lie, but only just barely.

“ _What did I have_?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because – ” But suddenly, Casey’s expression changes from angry to something that confuses Athena. She looks… Sad? “I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t. You don’t have to share everything with me, I just… Look, I won’t touch your stuff again, but I’ve got a class to go to. Can you give me a shirt?”

Athena stared. “I’m still mad at you.”

“Well, my shirts are all dirty.”

Athena groaned and pulled out a green t-shirt that she thrust at Casey. “I hate you, Casey Netwon.”

Casey pauses with the shirt halfway-on, meaning Athena can’t see her face. She has a feeling, though, that it would once again be a mystery to her. After what feels like over a minute, Casey finally gets back in motion. Once the shirt is on, Casey is quick to turn away and rush out the door, slamming it behind her. Athena’s legs feel weak.

She sits on her bed so she doesn’t fall. It’s hard for her to deal with social situations. It always has been. Still, she can tell she overreacted. After all, Casey had no way of knowing how important that _stupid_ pin was to Athena, and how _horrible_ seeing it made her feel. It was the pin Frank had made her back in high school, in his metalworking class. He’d had an identical one, but after their friendship had fallen apart… Well, Athena had ultimately had to rescue Frank’s pin from the garbage. That one is currently under her pillow.

Athena brings her knees up to her chest. She doesn’t hate Casey at all. Quite the contrary, as much as she’s been trying to ignore the truth. She is attracted to Casey… Which probably explains why, despite Frank having meant so much to her, she had been so unsure of how to respond to his love for her. She loved him, just not _like that_. Not that she’s in _love_ with Casey, but she certainly would love her roommate to be more than just her friend and partner in fixing the future.

Which is probably a large part of why seeing Casey with the pin had caused her to, in Casey’s words, ‘freak out’. She feels like by being able to feel this way about someone else, she’s betraying Frank. She realizes, now, that she has to move past this if she ever wants to be happy, not just with Casey, but in general. Guilt is rare for Athena, but she carries so much of it surrounding what happened with Frank.

Logically speaking, there’s really only one course of action to take. Athena borrows the cell phone of a girl across the hall, as she knows – from experience – that Frank won’t pick up for her.

The phone begins to ring, and she can’t help a smile at hearing her old friend eventually answer.

“Hello, Frank Walker.”

There’s a pause, and then, “Go to hell, Athena.”

“Frank, that’s not fair,” Athena protests. “You _know_ if I could have felt the same way about you, I would have.”

“You think it’s just _that_? Athena, you gave me this whole beautiful dream about the future, and then you just… You gave up on it. We could have kept working for that, you know. Sure, you broke my heart, but some things are just as important.”

“I… I can’t argue with that,” Athena admits. “But you have to know I just didn’t want to further hurt you.”

“Well, that didn’t exactly work.”

“Frank, if it helps at all, I believe I’m a lesbian.”

“Um, okay.”

“So it had nothing to do with _you_.”

“Just my penis.”

Athena made a face. “That’s a bit crude. But yes, you’re right.”

“Well…” Frank sighed. “I don’t know, Athena. Did you call me to tell me that? That you’re a lesbian?”

“I called you because… I feel awful for what happened between us. Frank, I’ve found another person who could help bring the world to a better tomorrow. I’m sure the three of us… If we all work together, we can really do this.”

Another long pause. “She’s not smarter than me, is she?”

Athena laughs. “Is that a yes?”

“I don’t know yet. Is _that_ a _no_?”

“Look, Frank, what if you come out to Massachusetts over Spring Break? I’m staying up here for the holiday, and I know it’s a long trip from California, but I’ll pay for your flight and a hotel. Well, Father will. Maybe. If he doesn’t know it’s you – I’ll figure it all out.”

“Athena, I’ve been mad at you for a year…” Frank hesitates. “I don’t know if I can just _get over_ that.”

“But isn’t it tiring? Please, just think about it, Frank. I miss you.”

“I’ll think about it,” Frank says, and the other line goes dead. Athena sighs, emotionally exhausted, and flops down onto her bed. Barely a moment passes before the doorknob turns, and Casey enters the dorm.

“Athena, look, I really am sorry. You have every right to keep things to yourself; I know tha – ”

It’s hard for Athena to say who must be more surprised when she jumps up, runs over to Casey, and hugs her. “ _I’m_ sorry, too. I don’t hate you. The pin was a gift from a friend. A friend things got complicated with.”

“You, uh…” Casey seems confused, but returns the hug. “Do you want to talk about it now?”

Athena surprises each of them a second time by saying she does.


	5. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we come to a close.

Seeing Frank off at the end of Spring Break is hard, but Athena gets through it, largely by knowing she’ll be seeing Casey soon. The three of them had done a few video chats over the break, and Frank and Casey were certainly willing to work together. The distance would, of course, make things difficult, but with Casey’s dreams, Athena’s mind, and Frank’s recovered hope, they truly made a perfect team. They were going to save the world.

Of course, there are other perks to seeing Casey again. In the days leading up to Spring Break, Athena and Casey had gotten over their fight with ease, and while other roommate squabbles came up, for the most part, the girls just kept getting closer. And, much to Athena’s intrigue, Casey had gone out on a date with a _female_ classmate. Just the one date, but Casey had credited that to a lack of chemistry.

As for how things had gone with Frank… It had been awkward first, and they hadn’t parted ways the best of friends like in the old days, but things are definitely improved.

The doorknob turns, and Athena stands from her desk in anticipation of seeing Casey. The door opens and there she is, bag in hand. The effects of the Florida humidity can still be seen in her hair, which is frizzy beneath her NASA cap. She drops her bag on the floor, and Athena quickly picks it back up and places it on Casey’s side of the room. She still thinks her roommate’s unique way of organizing is a good thing, but that doesn’t mean she always has to allow it.

“How was home?” she asks, smiling.

“Great!” Casey is grinning from ear to ear. “Dad’s good, my brother’s good… How were things here?”

“Very interesting. Though things were somewhat strained, I think Frank and I are on the mend. Now that he’s accepted my sexuality, I believe our relationship will be simpler.”

“No relationship is simple,” Casey points out. “Friendships, family – none of it.”

Athena tilts her head to the side. This is, of course, a fact. Simply by combining two individuals with free will, one is guaranteed at least the _potential_ for complications. Still, this thought doesn’t sound very… Casey. “What brought that on?”

Casey blushes, just a bit, but enough for Athena to notice. “Well… Look at us. We started out as roommates who were going to work together. We became friends, too, though.” She pauses for a beat. “I missed you a lot over the break.”

“I missed you as well, Casey,” Athena replies, although she’s back at her desk by then, focus starting to return to papers and books.

“Hey, Athena, do you want to hang out sometime? Not doing research at the library?”

“We _do_ hang out otherwise. We hang out here.”

“Wow, okay, to be fair, I should have seen that coming. But, no, I’m asking you on a date.”

Athena looks up at Casey. She _wants_ this. She should feel _happy_. Instead she feels frightened. “I…”

“Hey, it’s fine if you don’t want to! I mean, I don’t know how it would work. I don’t know where we’d end up, I just figured it was worth it to give things a try. I really like you, Athena.”

Athena sits up straighter in her chair, which Casey would not have thought possible until seeing it. “I am attracted to you, Casey. Physically _and_ emotionally. I thought I’d be excited if you ever asked me this, but as it stands… I feel scared.”

“Well, if it helps, I’m scared, too. This would be a big step in what we have, and it could really mess it up. We don’t know.”

This is a good reason for her fear, Athena realizes. “Then… Perhaps it would be best to leave things as they are.”

“It might be. But the way I see it, we’re a team now. You, me, and Frank. We’ve got something worth working towards, and it’s something we all care a lot about. That’s always going to bring us back together, no matter what happens.”

It’s an assumption, but – Athena must admit – a safe one to make. If she and Frank have patched things up, anything is possible. She smiles at her friend. “I would like to go on a date with you, Casey.”

Casey offers her hand for Athena to shake it, but Athena just rolls her eyes. She stands and hugs Casey. It still feels a bit off to be so close to someone, but there’s a comfort to it, as well.

Athena doubts any kind of Higher Power, but she still has managed to believe all this time that she and Casey were roomed together for a reason. At first, she believed it was for the sake of the future. And it still is. But now she sees, clearer than ever, that it is also for her own sake. She needs Casey in her life.


End file.
